She shrieked and jumped out of the way, nearly knocking down a stack of plates piled up behind her on the counter. He reached past her to catch them.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Oh, you are so going to pay for that,” she warned him, and she grabbed some more suds, hurling them in his direction.
He dodged out of the way, ducking just in time, and the dishwater landed on the plates behind him. “You’re going to clean those up,” he shot back.
“Not a chance,” she replied. “You were the one on washing duty, remember?”
But before she could say another word, Aaron appeared in the kitchen doorway and cleared his throat.
Both Hannah and Xavier spun around as soon as they heard him.
“You guys okay in here?” Aaron asked.
Xavier nodded, wiping off his hands. “Yeah, we’re fine.”
“Okay, good.” Aaron cocked an eyebrow as he looked between them. “Because some of the guests are just settling down for the night, and they heard a ruckus and were worried that there was something going on down here.”
Hannah and Xavier exchanged a glance, grinning like a pair of schoolkids who had been caught skipping classes.
“Sorry,” Hannah apologized. “We’ll keep it down.”
“Thanks,” Aaron replied, and he paused for another moment, looking between them. There was clearly some other comment he wanted to make, but he thought better of it, much to Xavier’s relief. Last thing he needed was to have someone else speculating on what was going on between him and Hannah. It would drive Lawson insane if he found out that they were still flirting with each other, even after he had made it clear what he thought of that. Lawson had warned him off his sister because he didn’t think Xavier was stable enough to be in a relationship and he didn’t want Hannah to suffer because of it.
Aaron left, and Hannah pulled a face at Xavier.
“Guess we should get back to work,” she told him. “Without scaring the guests.”
“Guess so,” Xavier agreed. “You want to wash this time?”
“I think I’ll just supervise,” she replied. “I don’t trust myself with those slippery plates, I can already see myself breaking one.”
“Okay, back to drying duty then,” Xavier told her, nodding to the spot beside him.
She took her place and stole a glance at him out of the corner of her eye.
“What is it?” he asked her quietly. He wasn’t sure what he wanted her to say, but he knew he had to find out what she was thinking.
She paused for a moment, biting her lip, like her mind was wandering to a million different places at once. “Nothing,” she said finally, shaking her head. “I just… You know you can always talk to me, right? If something’s bothering you?”
“I know,” he replied softly. He had no intention of burdening her with the information of the break-in; she didn’t need to worry about him any more than she already did. But there was some relief in knowing that she was willing to listen to him. Sometimes, he felt like he was dealing with so much alone, so many of the memories in his mind still so fresh thanks to the nightmares he was being tortured with every night.
“Good,” she replied, and she bumped her hip against his. The small touch alone was enough to make him smile, her closeness always welcome for him. “Back to work then, soldier.”
They went back to washing and drying the dishes in companionable silence, but Xavier’s mind was still wandering. Wandering back to all those nights he had woken up in his bed alone, and wondering if his nightmares might have eased up a little if he had been sleeping next to her instead.
Chapter Eight
Hannah stared out the big window in the lodge’s reception area, scanning the quiet grounds. She was so warm and comfy in the lodge, and she dreaded the thought of having to venture back out into the frosty morning.
She had come out early to help get breakfast made, and now she was going to walk Jed to his first meeting with Sarah so he’d know where her office was for future appointments. Letting out a big sigh, she wrapped her arms around herself in a futile attempt to ward off the cold, opened the door and made her way toward his cabin.
Shoving her hands deep in her pockets as she trudged down the misty path, she couldn’t stop from wondering how much longer spring was going to take to show up.
Chatting with Jed last night, she had gotten a strange vibe from him. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was, and she had dismissed it out of hand, convincing herself that it was nothing more than his trauma or stress making him act a little off. Once he got a little more settled here, she was sure she would feel more comfortable around him.
Reaching his cabin, she was just lifting her hand to knock on the door when it opened in front of her. She offered him a smile in greeting.
“Good morning,” he announced, stepping out from the cabin quickly and closing it up tight behind him, like there was something in there he didn’t want her to see.
